The Long Way Back
by amandapanda222
Summary: Penny and Leonard are broken up. But are they really done with each other? Penny/Leonard, Leonard/Leslie, Penny/OC. CHAPTER 7 NOW POSTED!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Trust me. I'm nothing more than a broke college student. **

**AN: So, I started this as a one-shot. The ending left it open for a continuation. I didn't intend that to happen. It just kinda did. Please review and let me know if it's total crap or not. Also, if you want to read more of this story and think I should continue, let me know. So, on with the show.**

"_Because she let me."_

"You're kidding me, right?" Penny yelled as she walked into Leonard's apartment behind him. "That's your reasoning. You jumped into bed with another woman a week after we broke up because she LET you? How many have there been who didn't let you? Did you just go out after I dumped you and start propositioning women?"

"Hey, that's completely unfair," Leonard yelled back. "Maybe that didn't quite come out right, but you have no right to judge me."

"I'm just saying, you apparently fall in and out of love pretty damn fast. If you were even in love with me to begin with."

"How can you even doubt how much I love you? I have been infatuated with you since you moved in across the hall. I was in love with you after our first date. The very first one, when you asked me afterwards if it was a date or not. I was still in love with you after our second first date. I loved you when I left for the North Pole. I was in love with you when I was standing out in the freezing cold catching a damn snowflake for you. But I held it in. Forgive me if I thought after being in a relationship with you for eight months, I could finally clue you in to how I felt. So don't you dare doubt how much I love you."

"Then why did you fuck the first woman who looked your way?"

"For starters, I didn't proposition her. She came into my bedroom and took off all her clothes. She's like a physics goddess. If Brad Pitt came into your room, got naked and said he must have you, you would have done the exact same thing."

"Because she's famous is not an excuse, Leonard."

"Then maybe it just felt nice to be wanted for a change."

"What do you mean for a change? I wanted you, Leonard."

"I was the one that pursued you for two years. I have always been the one to pursue the woman and I nearly always get shot down and crushed. My first real girlfriend defected to North fucking Korea to get away from me. Leslie used me for sex, not that she and I had any real future. Stephanie and I never had a chance because I was too in love with you. Then, after being shot down by you so many times and being led on, I finally get my shot with you. Everything is going great and then you go and pull the rug out from under me and make me feel like an unwanted piece of shit. So, no Penny, you obviously did not want me. And you don't get to judge me for how I am dealing with things. I'm sorry you found out about the one night I didn't sit in bed alone and think about all the things that happened in that room between us. I'm sorry you heard about the one night where it wasn't complete torture to lie in that bed."

"You think you're the only who feels like they're being tortured? You still have your friends to help you through this. You can turn to your best friend. My best friend is gone now."

"You can't get a hold of her," Leonard asked, thinking she was talking about a friend from back home.

"No, you idiot. You. You are my best friend. Or were. So now, I have to sit on my couch, eating ice cream and watching Star Wars alone. I can't talk to anyone about this because the one person who can fix my heart is the same one who broke it. So, don't act like you're the only one suffering. I have to "forget" to put gas in my car just to see you. Don't you dare think that I'm not hurting too."

"You've been watching Star Wars?"

"Yeah."

"And I'm your best friend?"

"Who else would it be?"

"I watched an episode of Sex and the City."

"I thought you hated that."

"I do. But I can imagine you laughing. If I can't hear your actual laugh, I just have to go off of my memories. Look, if it makes you feel any better, Dr. Plimpton was just using me. She's apparently some kind of sex maniac and I was an available penis. I guess she figured she had a better chance with me than with Sheldon, since you know, I actually have a sex drive."

Penny let out a soft chuckle at that. "But how hilarious would it have been to see her try to seduce Sheldon? Leonard, it doesn't make me feel better that she was using you. It doesn't make me feel better to know you're hurting."

"Thanks. For what it's worth, I can't talk to my best friend either. I wish I could because I miss her so much."

"I miss my best friend too." The two paused and looked at each other. "So, how exactly did you figure out Dr. Plimpton was a sex maniac or do I want to know," Penny asked to break the tension.

"She tried to initiate a four-way between her, me, Wolowitz, and Koothrapali."

"Please tell me you didn't do it because that's a picture I never want to imagine again."

"Of course not! How could you think I actually did it?"

"Well, she is a 'physics goddess," Penny joked.

"Trust me, nothing could make me do that," Leonard shuddered at the thought.

"I'm glad not everything has changed. Well, I um, I guess I should go."

"I guess so. Penny, you don't have to forget to fill up your car just to come over here. We miss you during Halo nights. I miss you. So, whenever you want, you can always come talk to your best friend."

"Thanks, Leonard. I don't know if I'm ready for that yet. But maybe I'll start coming over again to hang out with the guys. I'll see you around."

"See ya."

Penny closed the door behind her. It was going to take a long time, but Penny and Leonard would eventually find their way back to each other.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Seriously. Nada.**

**AN: I decided to continue with this. Thank you so much to the two of you that reviewed! Thank you also to everyone who added me to his or her alert list or favorites. This chapter takes place before The Staircase Implementation. **

Penny had been pulling extra shifts at the Cheesecake Factory over the past couple weeks. One of the waitresses was on maternity leave and Penny jumped at the chance to spend as little time in her apartment as possible. This was her first night off in eight days and she intended to spend as much time relaxing as possible.

She put on her most comfortable pajamas and settled in for a Sex and the City marathon to prepare for the next movie. Just as she started up the DVD player, the sound of a dying cat pulled her out of her blissful relaxation.

"Holy crap on a cracker, what the hell is that?" Penny asked herself.

She went out of her apartment to see where it was coming from. The sound got louder the closer she was to Leonard and Sheldon's apartment.

"Of course, it's Rock Band night," Penny muttered to herself. "I really wish they would let someone other than Raj sing."

She turned to head back to her apartment and then stopped.

"Leonard did say I should come over and hang out again," Penny thought to herself. "I don't really want to sit in my apartment alone again. Screw it. I want to hang out with my friends."

Penny braced herself and knocked on the door before entering.

"Don't come hangin' round my door, I don't wanna see your face no mo-"

Raj stopped singing and looked over at Penny. He waved awkwardly, just like normal.

"Hey guys," Penny said cautiously.

"Were we being too loud again?" Leonard asked. "I'm sorry. We'll keep it down."

"Thanks, but I was actually wondering if I could join you," Penny asked.

The guys looked at Leonard, trying to gauge his response.

"Sure, come on in," Leonard said.

The guys looked at Leonard, then at Penny, then at Leonard again, trying to figure out what was happening.

"Excuse us, Penny," Wolowitz said. "Leonard, may we speak to you in the kitchen?"

"Sure," Leonard said, preparing himself for the interrogation he knew would follow.

"What is going on?" Howard asked once they were out of earshot of Penny. "Are you two back together or what?"

"No, of course not," Leonard said. "We talked the other day and I told her she should feel free to come over and hang out with us if she wanted."

"Leonard, if I may," Sheldon started. "Based on her proximity and your current emotional status, I cannot see how this will end well."

"What are you talking about, Sheldon?"

"With her hanging out over here all the time again, you're going to fall back into the same bad habit of mooning over her like a little puppy."

"Guys, look. When Penny and I broke up, she didn't just lose our relationship. Face it, you all are three of her closest friends. It's not fair that I should get all of you in the break-up. We're good with each other now. We can hang out in group settings. It's going to be fine. Now, can we please get back to Rock Band?"

"But Leonard, how are we going to do this?" Sheldon asked, with a slight panic in his voice.

"I told you. It'll be fine. It's only awkward if you let it be that way."

"Not what I meant, Leonard. Rock Band is a four-person game. We now have five players."

"Well, Raj won't be able to sing anymore now that Penny is here. He and I can switch off on guitar. That cool with you, Raj?"

Raj nodded.

"But who will be our singer?"

"Penny can do it. She can't be any worse than Raj."

"Fine, but let me say for the record, I do not see any way this will be a successful endeavor."

"It'll be fine, Sheldon. Now, come on."

The four walked back over to the living room area where Penny was sitting on the couch.

"Is everything okay, guys?" Penny asked, a little worried that she would no longer be welcome.

"It's fine," Leonard assured her. "You want to be our singer?"

"Isn't that Raj's job?" Penny asked.

"Normally, yeah," Leonard responded. "He and I are going to switch off on guitar, though."

"Are you sure? I don't want to ruin your routine."

"It's fine. Which song do you want?"

"How about 'Bad Reputation?'"

Over the next two hours, the group went through nearly every song in the game. Once they reached the end of the list, they decided to call it quits for the night.

"I should head home," Penny said. "I work the lunch shift tomorrow and have to run some errands before work."

"I'll walk you to your door," Leonard said.

"Thanks. Good night, guys. Tonight was a lot of fun."

Penny and Leonard walked across the hall and stopped in front of her door.

"I'm really glad you came over tonight, Penny," Leonard said.

"Thanks for letting me come over. I was really afraid when you all were talking in the kitchen that you were going to come back and ask me to leave."

"I wouldn't have let them do that to you."

"Thanks, Leonard. I've really missed hanging out with you all."

"We've missed you, too."

"Well, good night, Leonard."

"Night, Penny."

**AN 2: Please review! Let me know where I can improve, what you liked, what you didn't, what you want to see in the future, etc. The next chapter will hopefully be up by the end of the week.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**AN: This takes place post-finale. This will be the last part that deals with a specific episode. From here on out, it's all me. I have 16 chapters outlined and the plan is to finish this up by early July. We'll see if that actually happens.**

Leonard woke up the next morning with a splitting headache. He didn't remember much from last night. He knew he went to Leslie's apartment. That was before the drinking began. Once he left the liquor store, though, things started to get fuzzy. He faintly remembered seeing Penny.

"Oh no," Leonard said to himself as the night suddenly became clearer. "I need to talk to Penny. I need to make this right."

Leonard went to get rid of his tequila breath and threw on the first clothes he found before running across the hall.

Knock, knock. "Penny, it's Leonard. I really need to talk to you."

Penny opened the door.

"Penny, I really need to apologize to you," Leonard started. "Can I come in? I don't think this is a hallway kind of conversation."

Penny let him in and sat on the couch, motioning for Leonard to sit next to her.

"I can't even begin to apologize enough for what I did last night," Leonard continued. "There was a lot of tequila involved and I was upset about the night before and I just got out of control. I'm so sorry."

"Leonard, it's not completely your fault," Penny said. "I'm partially to blame. I shouldn't have come to you the night before. There is one question I have, though."

"What is it?"

"Why didn't you stop me? You were completely sober. Why didn't you send me away?"

"I guess it never dawned on me that after everything we've been through, you would just use me for sex. I thought it was your way of trying to get back together with me. I've never been through a break-up like this before. I've never been in a serious enough relationship to be in this situation. I've never had my heart broken before."

"Leonard…"

"No, Penny. Let me say this. I was and still am in love with you. For me, every time we made love meant something to me. I thought you felt the same way. So, when you came to me for sex that night, I thought you wanted to be with me again. I could never just have sex with you and then forget it the next morning. Not with you, Penny."

"I'm so sorry, Leonard. I thought things were getting better after our Rock Band night and now, it's getting out of control again."

"No, Penny. This is good. I think we were just trying to ignore the issues between us. I wanted so desperately to keep you in my life that I fooled myself into thinking I could remain friends with you."

"What are you saying, Leonard?"

"I'm saying that right now, I don't know if I can be just friends with you. After everything we've had, I don't know if I can ever be just friends. I'm always going to know what we had and think about what might have been. So, for now, I think it's best if we don't see each other. I know I said I could handle us hanging out again, but I don't think I can. I need time, Penny. It's clear to me that you want to move on from me, but I can't do that from you unless I'm not around you."

"So, I can't ever hang out with you and the guys again?"

"Of course not. I know how you feel about Sheldon and Raj, even Howard to a lesser extent. I'd never want you to lose friends over this. I'm going out of town for a month. There's this conference in Boston for a week. I've got some extra vacation time built up, so I'm going to visit my brother and sister for a few weeks. Hang out with my niece and nephew. Just spend some time with my family. Clear my head a little bit."

"I'm so sorry, Leonard. I never meant to hurt you like this."

"I know you didn't, Penny. Just do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"Don't ever use me like that again. I know you were drunk and weren't thinking clearly, but we've seen that I can't say no to you. Just, when I come back, if you get drunk, go to someone else?"

"Of course, Leonard. For what it's worth, I haven't quite moved on, either."

"Goodbye, Penny. I'll see you in a month."

Leonard walked back over to his apartment. His plane to Boston left tomorrow and he had to start packing.

"Leonard, how are you feeling this morning," Sheldon asked him as he walked in the door. "You apparently survived the night, which I consider astonishing based on the amount of alcohol you consumed yesterday."

"Morning, Sheldon," Leonard responded. "I'm fine. Just a bit of a headache. Hey, don't forget I'm leaving for Boston tomorrow, so you need to find alternate transportation everywhere for the next month."

"Of course I remembered, Leonard. I have an eidetic memory. How could I forget that you gave me a mere two days notice? Raj agreed to drive me where I need to go, but he said you and him would be having a conversation upon your return home."

"Fantastic. I need to go pack."

Leonard settled into his seat on the plane and prepared for the long flight ahead of him.

"Hello, Leonard," said a voice as the person proceeded to sit down next to him.

"Leslie?"

**AN 2: Up next: Leonard and Leslie discuss Leonard's proposition from the finale. Please review! According to the traffic on this story, 283 people have read it, but I only have 4 reviews! Any constructive criticism is much appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: See chapter 1. **

"Hello, Leonard."

"Leslie? What are you doing on this flight?"

"The university is sending both of us to this conference," Leslie said as she sat down next to Leonard. "Didn't you see the e-mail?"

"I guess not," Leonard said, awkwardly as he thought back to his last encounter with Leslie. "Well, this should be fun."

"Did you ever find someone who was willing to take you up on your offer," Leslie asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"No, that was a failed experiment that just led to lots of embarrassment and awkwardness," Leonard said. "I want to apologize for that. I was in a really bad place and was confused. I shouldn't have come to you like that."

"Like you're the first person who has come back begging for more," Leslie said. "You want to talk about it?"

"Seriously?"

"Why not? We've got a few hours ahead of us. We could just sit here in awkward silence and read whatever idiotic papers we brought along, but this could be more fun."

"Okay, well, it's kind of a long story."

Leonard proceeded to tell Leslie the whole embarrassing story of what happened after he left her apartment that night. He told her about his break-up with Penny and how much he hated Wil Wheaton for his involvement in it. Leslie shared her stories of failed Internet dating and the losers she had encountered. Most of the men she had dated in the past few months made Howard look like a perfect gentleman. They laughed over Sheldon's latest antics. Next thing they knew, their flight landed in Boston.

"I assume the university is putting you up at the Marriott as well?" Leslie asked.

"Yeah, you want to share a cab there?"

"We might as well. Are you as excited as I am for a fun-filled week of seminars?"

"I don't know," Leonard said. "The seminar on non-fermi liquid behavior in bilayer graphene looks pretty intriguing. Dr. Nandkishore is a really great lecturer."

"That's true. His talk on competing orders in bilayer graphene at charge neutrality last fall was riveting."

"Some of the string theory lectures look pretty exciting as well."

"Dr. Bergshoeff has been doing some pretty amazing work with massive gravity in other dimensions, though I do still prefer quantum loop theory. Do you maybe want to be my seminar buddy?"

"Your seminar buddy," Leonard asked, laughing. "Are you afraid to go by yourself?"

"I just figured if we want to go to the same lectures, we could go together," Leslie responded as they arrived at the hotel. "If we happened to get some dinner and drinks one night, so be it."

"Are you asking me out," Leonard asked, genuinely confused. "I thought you said you could never date a guy who preferred string theory to quantum loop theory?"

"Well, as I get older and my biological clock ticks faster, I'm more willing to make concessions," Leslie replied.

"I don't know if I'm ready to jump back into a relationship," Leonard said, trying to let her down gently.

"Look, I'm not saying we should start picking out china patterns and planning a wedding," Leslie said. "We just work well together and I would like to give us another shot. Why don't we just hang out this week and see how it goes? No commitment."

"Okay," Leonard said. "I would be fine with that."

"Fantastic. Well, we should probably check into our rooms. I guess I'll see you tomorrow at registration?"

"Yeah," Leonard said. "I'm probably going to turn in early tonight. Try to get used to the time difference."

"Same here. Well, good night."

"Good night, Leslie."

As Leonard walked up to his room, he wondered what had just happened. After he left Leslie's apartment that night, he thought she would never speak to him ever again. Now she wanted to date him? Leonard decided he would never understand women.

As the week progressed, Leonard and Leslie were having a really great time together. They went to nearly every seminar together. She went to a couple quantum loop theory talks when she got sick of all the string theory lectures Leonard wanted to attend. They had gone out to dinner twice. Leonard forgot how easy it was to talk to Leslie. He loved being able to talk about physics with her. Her intelligence was always what he found sexiest about her.

The night before the last day of the conference, Leonard and Leslie went to a Chinese restaurant close to their hotel.

"So, the conference ends tomorrow," Leslie said. "What would you think about continuing to date when we go back to Pasadena?"

"I'm actually not going back to Pasadena for a few weeks," Leonard said. "My brother and his wife just had twins, so I'm going to visit them in Cambridge."

"I see," Leslie said. "What about when you do come back to California?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure yet," Leonard said. "I really like spending time with you, Leslie. I just need to figure some things out first. Can I get back to you on that?"

"Sure," Leslie said. "I think we could be really great together, Leonard. I won't rush you into anything you're not ready for, though. But I'm not going to wait around forever, either. If, when you come back to Pasadena, you don't want to pursue a relationship, I'm not going to wait until you are ready. That's not fair to me."

"I completely agree," Leonard said, nodding his head. "I'll think about it while I'm at my brother's house. When I come back, I will have an answer for you. I promise."

**AN: Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed! I really do appreciate it. I tried to take some of the suggestions about the dialogue. Hopefully, it's not as stiff as it was in the first few chapters. Please don't hate me for the direction the story is taking. I promise you, this is a Leonard/Penny story. The story is called the LONG way back for a reason. I know I said I had 16 chapters planned out, but this one took a different path than I intended. Right now, I don't know how many chapters it will be. Most likely somewhere between 17-20. Updates should come much faster now, though. Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I work at a frozen custard store. Do you seriously think I have enough money to own BBT? If so, you're as delusional as Howard. **

Leonard pulled into the driveway of his brother's Tudor house in Cambridge. He was both dreading and looking forward to the next three weeks ahead of him. Leonard was not terribly close to either of his siblings, but he got along with his brother Michael well enough. In all honesty, he was here to visit his sister-in-law Allison and meet their new twins, Sandra (after Sandra Day O'Connor) and Peter (after Allison's father who had died earlier in the year).

Michael and Leonard's sister were very similar to Leonard's parents, extremely driven and a bit cold. Allison, however, had been the closest Leonard ever got to a normal brother-sister relationship. He and Allison talked fairly regularly. She knew the whole saga with Penny and he was anxious to talk more in-depth with her about the recent changes between him and Leslie.

Before Leonard could even knock on the door, a very frazzled Allison opened it.

"If you knock, you'll wake up Sandy and Pete and I just got them down," Allison said frantically as she pulled Leonard into a huge hug. "It's so good to see you. I can hardly wait for you to meet the twins."

"I know," Leonard said. "I'm so excited to see my first niece and nephew. The pictures you sent me were just adorable."

"Aw, thanks," Allison replied. "The Star Trek onesies you sent are so cute. I have them laid out for the kids to wear as soon as they're up from their nap. Here, let me show you to your room. We're putting you in the room by the kitchen. It's the farthest away from the nursery, so you'll get to sleep at night without hearing the sound of screaming children."

"I don't know why you won't just let me stay at a hotel," Leonard said as he followed Allison to the guest room. "You have two babies in the house. You do not need to worry about having a house guest for three weeks."

"Nonsense," Allison said, dismissively. "You are family. And in my world, family does not stay in a hotel when there is an available room in the house. Plus, I could honestly use some help with the twins once in a while. Michael is working on some new law textbook and when he is home, he just locks himself in his office to write."

Leonard finally took time to really look at Allison. She looked like she hadn't slept in weeks. She was obviously at her wit's end.

"Allison, is Michael helping you at all with the twins," Leonard asked, concerned.

"Well, he's busy with teaching and papers and this book," Allison said, trying to make the situation seem better than it was. "Plus, he can't really feed the kids at night. Inadequate equipment and whatnot."

"Okay, here's what we're going to do," Leonard said, jumping into action. "You're going to go take a long, hot bath and then sleep. Leave the baby monitor by me. When Sandy and Pete wake up, I'll take care of them until you wake up again."

"Have you ever actually been around an infant, Leonard," Allison asked, with a hint of laughter. "Do you know the first thing about them?"

"Okay, maybe I wasn't a baby-sitter or anything like that, but I can figure out how to change a diaper and hold a baby," Leonard said. "I'll just treat them like a really delicate piece of lab equipment. Problem solved. Go. Sleep. And I'm taking care of dinner."

"Leonard, come on, you're our guest," Allison said. "You didn't come here to work."

"No, I came to visit my favorite sister-in-law and talk with her," Leonard said. "Right now, she looks like she needs a good nap. When you wake up, you can help me fix my messed up personal life. How's that?"

"Well, I could use a nap," Allison said. "Just wake me up if you're having problems with Sandy and Pete. And thank you, Leonard. You're a godsend."

Allison headed upstairs to her room. Leonard sat on the couch and put the baby monitor on the end table next to him. He picked up the remote and found a Mythbusters marathon on Discovery Channel. After about an hour, Leonard heard soft crying coming from the baby monitor. He headed upstairs to the nursery to check on the twins. He found Pete was wide awake and Sandy was just starting to get that way as well. Pete seemed perfectly content lying in his crib, so Leonard went to pick up Sandy.

"Hey, little girl," Leonard said, lovingly. "You probably have no idea who I am, but I'm your uncle Leonard. I'm just going to pick you up. Hopefully, you won't start screaming because that would wake your mommy up and she needs her sleep."

As he picked Sandy up, she started to fuss a little more, but as soon as she was positioned in his arms, she just smiled up at him.

"You're so tiny," Leonard said, with a bit of disbelief in his voice. "I mean, I knew you were going to be tiny because obviously, you're a baby, but you seem smaller than I expected."

"You look like a natural," Allison said from the doorway.

"What are you doing up already," Leonard said. "It's hardly been an hour and a half."

"I heard you in here with the kids," Allison said. "It's not a big deal. I feel so much better now. Thank you for letting me sleep."

"No problem," Leonard said. "They're so tiny. It seems like they should be bigger or something."

"No, they're about average for three months," Allison said, picking Pete up from his crib. "Here, let's go downstairs. Are you good with Sandy or do you want me to carry her?"

"I've got her," Leonard said. "Let's go."

They walked downstairs and sat on the couch. Allison moved the kids' swings closer and set Pete in his. She took Sandy from Leonard and put her in the other swing.

"Okay, let's talk," Allison said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay, actually," Leonard said. "I talked to Penny about the incident—"

"I still can't believe you didn't turn her away that night," Allison said.

"I was vulnerable," Leonard said. "I thought she wanted me back!"

"Leonard, I don't understand how you are not familiar with drunken rebound sex," Allison said. "I mean, I know you haven't ever dated very much, but come on."

"I know," Leonard said. "Anyway, do you remember Leslie Winkle?"

"Your co-worker who used you for casual sex and then tried to date you, but broke up with you when you said you liked your universe stringy instead of loopy?"

"Yeah, she's the one," Leonard said, realizing just how screwed up his relationship had been with her.

"And the one who you propositioned before Penny?"

"Yeah, let's not talk about that night, anymore," Leonard said, getting embarrassed thinking about his stupidity.

"Got it. What about Leslie?"

"Well, she went to the conference also," Leonard said.

"Huh, awkward."

"At first, yeah, but we actually had a really great week," Leonard said, smiling. "We sat next to each other on the plane out there and I told her all about Penny and apologized for coming to her that night. We went to a bunch of seminars together and went out to dinner a couple nights. She asked me if I wanted to keep seeing her once we got back to Pasadena."

"Okay, do you really want to get involved with her again," Allison asked. "I mean, think about your history and tell me if you think that sounds like a stable relationship?"

"The time we actually tried to date, things went really well," Leonard said. "Until we realized we felt differently about string theory. Outside of that, it was the most functional relationship I've had. Well, Penny was fairly stable up until the end."

"Okay, Leslie may have been stable for you, but that's honestly not saying much," Allison said, gently teasing Leonard. "Here's the question, though. Are you still in love with Penny?"

"Honestly, I don't even know anymore," Leonard said. "I mean, a part of me is always going to love her. I just don't know if it's worth it to keep holding out hope for something that might never happen. Leslie likes me. I like her. Maybe we won't fall in love and get married, but I think I might want to give her another shot."

"Would you be interested in Leslie if you didn't know she was interested in you," Allison asked.

"What do you mean," Leonard asked, genuinely confused.

"I mean, you've just been rejected by the woman you loved for three years," Allison said, gently. "Are you sure you're not just settling for the first woman to show an interest in you? Because if you are, that's not fair to you and definitely not to Leslie."

"I probably would not have instigated a relationship with Leslie again," Leonard said. "But I can't say I'm not still intrigued by the possibility of what she and I could have."

"Are you sure you don't want to just take some time to grieve for what you and Penny had," Allison asked. "I just don't want to see you jump into another relationship and get hurt again."

"I'm thirty-three years old," Leonard said. "I don't want to keep dating forever. I want to get married at some point. I want to have kids some day. I know Leslie wants that, too. Why shouldn't I give it a chance?"

"If you're sure about it, Leonard," Allison said, somewhat unsure as she hugged him. "I'm going to support you no matter what. I just want you to be happy."

"Thanks, Allison," Leonard said. "I mean, I've still got three weeks here so I can think about everything before I make any decisions."

Over the next three weeks, Leonard thought about the situation with Penny and Leslie nearly every waking moment. He also spent a ton of time helping Allison take care of Sandy and Pete. Leonard realized he was ready for a serious relationship. While he had hoped he would one day marry Penny and have children with her, he realized that might not be what was supposed to happen. He didn't want to sit around and wait for Penny to want the same things as him.

The night before Leonard left Cambridge, he called Leslie.

"Hey Leslie, it's Leonard. I just wanted to see if you were still interested in maybe going out on a date with me?"

"Of course I am, Leonard. I thought we established that during the conference in Boston."

"I just wanted to make sure the offer was still on the table."

"I told you it would be until you returned to Pasadena. So, you've decided to move on from Penny?"

"I think that's what is best for me right now. Are you free on Friday?"

**AN: Please don't hate me! I swear, I know how this is all going to turn out and Leonard and Leslie will not be getting married and living happily ever after. Also, I couldn't remember if they had ever established Leonard's age on the show, so I decided he's 33 right now. I'm really unsure about this chapter. Please let me know what you thought. Next chapter should be up within a few days, hopefully. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Nope. Still broke. Still not mine.**

Leonard had been home from Cambridge for a week now. He and Leslie had spoken every day since he returned. They went out for dinner Friday night and had a perfectly pleasant time. She filled him in on what had happened at work while he was gone. He told her all about taking care of Sandy and Pete. The two went to get coffee after dinner and ended up getting kicked out by the employees so they could close the store.

_Things were just easier with Leslie_, Leonard thought to himself as he got ready for their date that night. Maybe this is how things were supposed to be.

As he walked out of his apartment, Penny walked out of hers. It was the first time they were alone together since he got home. Penny started hanging out with the guys again while Leonard was away, so he saw her at Halo Night and around his apartment, but they hadn't really talked yet.

"Hey, Leonard," Penny said, a little cautiously. "Um, you look nice. Got a date?"

"Yeah, actually," Leonard said, unsure of how to act in this situation. "You headed to work?"

"Yeah, I picked up the dinner shift for Bernadette," Penny said, starting to ramble. "She has a huge test in one of her summer classes and needed to study. I need the money, so…yeah."

"Oh, yeah," Leonard said, pausing awkwardly. "This is really awkward, isn't it?"

"Just a little bit," Penny said quickly. "I don't want it to be like this."

"I don't either," Leonard said, pausing again. He knew he and Penny should talk about things, but he didn't know how to approach the situation. "Well, I'm going to be late if I don't leave, so bye."

"Oh, right, of course," Penny said. "See ya around."

Leonard turned to walk down the stairs. Penny stood there for a moment. She needed to go downstairs as well, but didn't want to have four flights of awkward conversation. If she stood there for very long, though, she was going to be late for work.

_This is stupid_, Penny thought to herself. She and Leonard live on the same floor. They had pretty much all the same friends. They were bound to spend lots of time together, so they needed to get past this awkwardness. She headed down the stairs behind Leonard.

"So, um, how was your brother?" Penny asked.

"I didn't actually see him very much," Leonard said, glad to talk about something less awkward. "He was really busy with work. I mainly just hung out with my sister-in-law and the twins."

"I'm sorry you didn't see your brother very much," Penny said.

"It's cool. I was really there to see Allison and the twins, anyway. I have pictures of them in the Star Trek onesies we sent—"

Leonard trailed off, kicking himself for bringing up his and Penny's relationship.

"Great," Penny said, consciously avoiding the awkward mention of the past. "You'll have to show me sometime."

"Yeah, I will," Leonard said, as they reached the front door.

"I guess I'll see you around," Penny said. "Have fun on your date."

"Thanks," Leonard said. "Have fun at work."

As Penny walked to her car, she thought about the interaction. She never thought Leonard would be the first one to move on. True, she did go out with Zack that night, but that was a half-hearted attempt at dating someone else. In all honesty, Penny thought she and Leonard would end up back together once he got back from Cambridge. She hadn't been on a date since Zack. She had plenty of offers, but she wasn't ready to jump back into dating yet. Maybe Leonard moving on was the push she needed from the universe.

"Whoever she is, I hope she makes Leonard happy," Penny said to herself.

* * *

Leonard arrived at Leslie's apartment a few minutes early. He thought a lot on his drive over to Leslie's about his interaction with Penny. She seemed extremely uncomfortable with the idea of him going on a date. Leonard couldn't understand why she would be, though. She had already started dating again.

_This is stupid_, Leonard thought to himself. He was not going to start overanalyzing all of Penny's actions and sabotage another relationship. He vowed to put all thoughts of Penny out of his mind and just enjoy his evening with Leslie.

Leonard and Leslie went out to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant near Leslie's apartment. Afterward, they went to a coffee shop to hear a local jazz musician. The two had a great time together. Leonard found himself not wanting the evening to end as they arrived back at Leslie's.

"Well, I guess this is good night," Leonard said.

"It doesn't have to be," Leslie said, in her dry, yet flirtatious way. "This is our third date. If you consider dinner in Boston as our first date, which I do. If you wanted to have intercourse tonight, I feel that would be an acceptable step in our relationship."

"Uh, wow," Leonard said, somewhat shocked. "Is that a step you would like to take tonight?"

"I did change my sheets and pick up my bedroom just in case, but you're the man, you should initiate it."

Leonard took a moment to think it over. On the one hand, it had been over a month since he had sex last and he couldn't deny that he had missed it. On the other, outside of his night with Dr. Plimpton (and what a mistake that had been), he hadn't been with anyone but Penny for quite some time.

He was doing it again. He didn't want to let Penny dictate his actions anymore. He was moving on, dammit. And there was no logical reason to deny Leslie tonight.

"Why don't we just go inside and see what happens," Leonard said as he leaned down to kiss Leslie.

"That sounds acceptable to me," Leslie replied.

The two went inside and continued to have an extremely pleasant evening – and next morning. Try as Leonard might, however, Penny stayed at the back of his mind.

**AN: Sorry for the slight delay in updating. The motivation fairy took an unexpected vacation. If this chapter seems better than the others, that's totally due to my amazing beta, webuiltthepyramids. **

**I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to review: webuiltthepyramids, Phantomfangirl, Tizzy, Firesign, Bimrin, KoolmanDan, IdiotThinker, amtrak12, little letters writer. You all are amazing and I really appreciate your input. **

**Next chapter will be up soon!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Trust me. I would not be living in my parent's basement and schlepping frozen custard this summer if I owned BBT.**

Knock, knock, knock. "Penny."

Knock, knock, knock. "Penny."

Knock, knock, knock. "Penny."

"Sheldon, do not go over there," Leonard yelled, agitated. "Do you have any sense of boundaries?"

By this point, Penny had opened her door and was staring at the two feuding roommates.

"Can I help you two?" Penny asked, amused and slightly irritated.

"Yes, Penny," Sheldon started, glaring at Leonard. "As you know, I have been seeing Amy Farrah Fowler in a faintly romantic sense for the past few weeks. We have had numerous conversations on the phone and have met for dinner on three separate occasions. We have determined to venture into further alien territory on our next date and 'double' with another couple. Leonard, as my roommate, was obviously my first choice. However, his current girlfriend is completely deplorable. I was hoping you would put aside your differences for one night and accompany Leonard on our double date."

Penny stared at Sheldon, completely speechless. She knew he didn't have a very clear idea of how humans generally interacted, but this was a new level of obliviousness. Plus, girlfriend? She knew Leonard had been out on a couple of dates, but she didn't know he was already in a new relationship.

"Sheldon, I cannot believe you," Leonard said, completely mortified. "I already told you Leslie has promised not to embarrass you in front of Amy. She has agreed not to call you a dumbass or anything else." He turned his attention to Penny. "I am so sorry he asked you to do this. I tried to stop him before he barged over here and humiliated himself."

Sheldon looked at Penny and Leonard.

"I don't see why this is so unreasonable," Sheldon said. "You are two of my closest friends. This does not have to qualify as a date for the two of you. While it might resemble a date, there does not have to be any expectation of coitus for the two of you. Plus, I don't believe Leslie is capable of being nice to me."

Penny stared at the two men, still unable to get her thoughts in order. First of all, she was trying to figure out how Sheldon thought this was an acceptable request. Secondly, she couldn't quite wrap her brain around the fact that Leonard was apparently dating Leslie Winkle again.

"Look sweetie," Penny started, "I know you think this is the best possible situation for you, but it's just not going to happen. Leonard and I are not going to go on a double date with you and Amy. We are friends. Nothing more than that. Also, when you want to go on a double date with someone and that person is already seeing someone, you can't just pick a date for him that you like better. That's not how this works."

"Well, I don't see why not," Sheldon argued.

"It's just not," Penny said. "I'm sorry you don't like it."

"Fine then," Sheldon said as he stomped back to the apartment. "But if Leslie says anything mean to me, you will get a strike, Leonard. And you already have two. One more and you have to take my class again."

Sheldon slammed the door shut behind him. Leonard turned to look at Penny.

"Awesome," Leonard said, "I'm totally going to end up taking that class again. Sheldon is going to get offended somehow."

"So, you and Leslie are back together again," Penny started, nervously. "That's…awesome. You two are such a cute couple."

"Thanks," Leonard said, awkwardly. "She and I went to that conference in Boston together and we've been hanging out since then. Look, I hope this isn't awkward for you or anything."

"Of course not," Penny said. "Why would it be awkward? We broke up. You're dating someone new. It happens. I'm happy that you've moved on. Um, look, I've got to go get ready for work. But um, good luck with Dr. Whackadoodle."

"Thanks," Leonard said, turning to go back to his apartment, "but no amount of luck is going to help me with him."

Penny went inside and sat down against the door after she shut it. She might have seemed fine since she and Leonard ended things, but this was one of the roughest times in Penny's life. Leonard was her best friend and she was so very close to really falling for him.

_How could he have moved on so quickly, _Penny thought. _He said he was in love with me. Less than two months later, he's already back in another relationship. And what was the attraction to Leslie? She so blatantly used him before. I guess she's smart. And not completely awful-looking. But if Leonard doesn't want to be anything more than friends, I can't change that. No matter how much I want to. Well, if he's moving on, then I guess I can too._

Penny picked up her cell phone and called her friend Tasha.

"Hey Tasha, it's Penny. You know how you wanted me to do that speed-dating thing with you? Well, I'm in."

The next night, Penny and her friends Tasha and Charly went to the speed-dating night at their favorite bar.

"I still can't believe you guys talked me into this," Penny said. "I mean, speed-dating? Seriously? Who even does that anymore?"

"So you might not meet Mr. Perfect here tonight," Charly said. "If nothing else, we can go out after, share our horror stories from the night, and have a good laugh."

"Yeah, this thing is normally pretty hit or miss," Tasha added. "But you can always count on one or two guys to be completely hilarious."

"Okay, fine, let's do this," Penny said. It felt good to get dressed up again and go out. She wasn't planning meeting anyone actually worth pursuing tonight, but Penny loved having a reason to look pretty again. She had found an aqua blue tube dress for eight bucks and it looked completely amazing on her. Sure enough, as she walked into the room, she saw a couple of guys do a double take. Yep, this was exactly what the doctor ordered.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen," the announcer called out. "Let's get this party started. We need one man and one woman at each table. You'll have five minutes to get to know each other. When I blow this whistle, the men will get up and move to their right. We'll move clockwise around the room. Each of you has a number on your nametag. At the end of each five minutes, if you liked the person you were chatting with, write their number down on your notepad. At the end of the night, we'll collect your notepads and if there was a mutual interest, you'll each get the other person's contact information. Got it? Great! Let's make some love connections!"

_Oh yeah, _Penny thought to herself, _I am going to kill Tasha and Charly for this. _

A short man with a bad haircut and the brightest Hawaiian shirt she had ever seen sat down across from her.

"Dobryĭ vecher krasivym," he said.

"I'm sorry, what?" Penny responded.

"Hasn't anyone ever said 'good evening, beautiful' in perfect Russian to you before?"

"No, I can't say that they have," Penny said, rolling her eyes.

Penny groaned and suffered through the next five minutes, during which he proceeded to tell her that she was so beautiful he wanted to be reincarnated as her child so he could breastfeed by her until he was twenty. _This is going to be a long night. I'm in a room full of even creepier versions of Howard._

Fifty minutes later, Penny had heard every cheesy pickup line in the book, been proposed to three times, and heard a riveting tale of one man's alien abduction. She was about to make a run for it when her next "potential suitor" sat down across from her.

"Long night?" he asked her, gently teasing.

"What was your first clue?" Penny responded, slightly groaning and wondering what cheesy pickup line he was going to use on her.

"You look like you're being held here against your will. Though having seen lots of the people here tonight, I don't blame you. Don't try to escape, though. They have a bouncer at the door. A really uptight woman who will flip out on you for throwing off her entire organizational system. Trust me, I've tried to escape before. It's best to just wait it out and get wasted later on the complimentary cocktails."

"Wow, thanks. You sound like you've been through this a few times."

"My friends drag me to this every month. You're new, though. I'm Daniel. Nice to meet you."

"Penny. Nice to meet you as well. You're the first normal person I've talked to all night."

"Damn. That's pretty sad. So, give me Penny in a nutshell."

"Um, I'm 24. Waitress at the Cheesecake Factory. Aspiring actress. Originally from Nebraska. Love football and dancing. What's the story of Daniel?"

"Okay, I'm 28. I'm a high school English teacher and I also run the drama club. I'm originally from Florida. Don't know a whole lot about football. Baseball is more my sport. And I don't have any sense of rhythm, but I've been told it's really funny to watch me try to dance."

"Hmm, very interesting."

The whistle blew before Penny could ask him more about his job. As Daniel said goodbye and walked to the next table, Penny wrote down the first number of the night on her notepad. _Maybe this night wasn't going to be a complete waste after all._

_**AN: Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed the last chapter! Dinny93, SargeantFuzzyBoots, KoolmanDan, Tizzy, IdiotThinker, and of course my lovely beta webuiltthepyramids, you all rock my socks off. So, this is where I normally say the next chapter will be posted soon, but that would be a lie. I'm going to be gone for the next two and a half weeks working at a summer camp for gifted high schoolers and hopefully getting ideas for what Sheldon, Amy, Leonard, and Leslie will talk about on their double date. If you have any suggestions for potential conversation topics, shoot them my way, please! Perhaps in a review? Pretty please? **_


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